TV Watch Survivor
Credit: Monty Brinton/CBS
Stephen Fishbach was the runner-up on Survivor: Tocantins and has been blogging about Survivor strategy for PEOPLE.com since 2009. Follow him on Twitter @stephenfishbach.
"If I told everyone to their face what I said behind their back, I wouldn't be playing a very good game, would I?"
– Corinne Kaplan, Survivor: Gabon
Corinne Kaplan was in a perfect position – or so it seemed.
She was a day one founding member of the Stealth R Us alliance. She had a side alliance with Michael Snow (whose sexual orientation we may never learn). Then her partner Malcolm approached her about a secret pact with the Bros from Gota. Now Corinne was part of a plot that could unseat her longtime antagonist Phillip and take control of the entire game.
Permalink | Filed Under: Celebrity Blog, Survivor, Stephen Fishbach
Credit: Monty Brinton/CBS (2)
Stephen Fishbach was the runner-up on Survivor: Tocantins and has been blogging about Survivor strategy for PEOPLE.com since 2009. Follow him on Twitter @stephenfishbach.
"It's usually not the strongest person that wins. The more pathetic you look and act usually seems to get you pretty far in the game."
– Tyson Apostol, Survivor: Tocantins
Wednesday night on Survivor, we finally saw the Cochran we'd been waiting for.
When Cochran was cast in South Pacific, he seemed like a hilarious super-fan who would be great at strategy and funny in confessionals.
Then he fell on his face. Almost literally.
Cochran never found his footing with his tribe, and his anxious humor only isolated him further.
On Wednesday, however, Cochran proved he could joke hard and play hard. He kept Phillip and Corinne placated while they had one of the stupidest arguments in Survivor history (whether or not to throw a stray vote at Michael). In his confessionals, he rolled his eyes at the ridiculousness.
Permalink | Filed Under: Celebrity Blog, Survivor, Stephen Fishbach
Credit: Monty Brinton/CBS
Matt Bischoff started out last week's Survivor: Caramoan in a good place.
He was in the majority alliance of his tribe, and no one had even thought about voting him off. But a tribal swap changed all that.
Although the switch was random, the other tribe got the buff, athletic contestants, while Bischoff ended up on a significantly weaker tribe.
Even worse, he was outnumbered – their tribe had only three Fans and four Favorites.
A diehard fan of the show, Bischoff, a 38-year-old BMX Salesman from Cincinnati, talks about his time on the game – as well as his amazing beard.
Credit: CBS (2)
Stephen Fishbach was the runner-up on Survivor: Tocantins and has been blogging about Survivor strategy for PEOPLE.com since 2009. Follow him on Twitter @stephenfishbach.
"I listened and I observed."
– Denise Stapley, winner, Survivor: Philippines
Maybe it's Stockholm Syndrome, but I really believe there's an undercurrent of good strategy this season on Survivor. It's been drowned out by larger-than-life characters like Shamar, Brandon and Phillip bellowing their cris-de-coeur up and down the Philippine jungle.
Underneath that clamor, though, smart people are making good decisions. We finally saw a glimmer of it on Wednesday's episode, when Corinne gave us a peek of what's going on behind the scenes.
Permalink | Filed Under: Celebrity Blog, Survivor, Jeff Probst, Stephen Fishbach
Credit: Jen Simon/Fondly Forever Photography
Kim Spradlin has a lot of great memories from the beach.
In 2012, she spent 39 days on a beach in Samoa, outwitting her way to the million-dollar prize on Survivor: One World.
And on Saturday, she got an even better prize when she married fiancé Bryan Wolfe on the beach in Cabo San Lucas, Mexico.
Surrounded by approximately 30 guests, Spradlin exchanged vows in a casual, boho-chic ceremony.
"We chose a private beach near our hotel," Spradlin tells PEOPLE. "It's by a cove. I just wanted it to feel very organic and natural."
Permalink | Filed Under: Survivor, Wedding, Kim Spradlin
Credit: Monty Brinton/CBS (2)
In 26 seasons, audiences have never seen a contestant leave Survivor as spectacularly as Brandon Hantz.
After an argument with fellow contestant Phillip Sheppard on Wednesday night's Survivor: Caramoan, Hantz, 21, angrily dumped out his tribe's beans and rice while unleashing a profanity-laced tirade directed at his tribe.
Life around camp became so tense that, for the first time, Hantz's tribe refused to compete in the immunity challenge and voted Hantz out on the spot.
It was an uncomfortable scene that led audiences to wonder if Hantz, 21, was mentally stable enough to play Survivor.
Credit: Monty Brinton/CBS
Stephen Fishbach was the runner-up on Survivor: Tocantins and has been blogging about Survivor strategy for PEOPLE.com since 2009. Follow him on Twitter @stephenfishbach.
"This is like a constant battle for me – good/evil, good/evil – and I really want to do good."
– Brandon Hantz, Survivor: South Pacific
Wednesday's episode of Survivor may have been my least favorite in the show's 13-year history. Brandon Hantz, of the Louisiana Hantzes, had a complete mental breakdown. He threatened people's safety and poured out the tribe's rice. It was gripping viewing, no doubt. But it was also very sad.
Permalink | Filed Under: Celebrity Blog, Survivor, Jeff Probst, Stephen Fishbach
Credit: Monty Brinton/CBS
Though Laura Alexander knew she was the weakest member of her tribe, she still hoped her loyalty would take her deep into the game.
After one too many losses, her tribe decided to cut her loose, making her the fifth person to leave Survivor: Caramoan.
The 23-year-old administrative officer from Washington, D.C., talks about her surprise ejection and what it was really like living with a volatile contestant like Shamar.
Credit: Monty Brinton/CBS
Shamar Thomas only lasted four episodes of Survivor but he got in more arguments with fellow contestants than most castaways do all season long.
Despite his combativeness, he was in a solid alliance until he was medically evacuated from the game on Day 10.
Thomas, a 27-year-old veteran of the USMC, talks about his experience, his injury, and what he would change about his time on the show.
Credit: Monty Brinton/CBS
Stephen Fishbach was the runner-up on Survivor: Tocantins and has been blogging about Survivor strategy for PEOPLE.com since 2009. Follow him on Twitter @stephenfishbach.
"If there's a merge coming up, we need strong members. But we also need loyal members."
– Stephen Fishbach, Survivor: Tocantins
What a blowout. Wednesday on Survivor, the Fans continued their epic losing streak. They lost the reward. They lost immunity. The Fans are losing so badly, they lost their biggest member to an errant dust particle.
Who could ever have imagined that putting 10 veterans of a game against 10 newbies would be a blowout? The Fans' only hope now is that the Favorites succumb to infighting.
Permalink | Filed Under: Celebrity Blog, Survivor, Jeff Probst, Stephen Fishbach
